Retrospective evaluation of the demographics, radiologic studies and clinical features of the panceratic cancer cases

Pancreatic cancer is the 4th most common cancer related cause of death in the world. The diagnosis is fairly difficult due to lack of signs and symptoms in the early stages of the disease. 5 year survival rate is lower than 5%. There are plenty of studies suggesting that cigarette smoking, obesity, male gender, family history, diabetes and chronic pancreatitis are related with increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer. It is shown that visceral and subcutaneous steatosis and sarcopenia are considered as bad prognostic factors. In our study, we retrospectively screened the Firat University Hospital, database for the patients who are over 18 years of age and referred to the gastroenterology clinics between January 2011 and May 2019 with pancreatic cancer diagnosis. 40 healthy subjects were randomly selected among patients who were referred to the gastroenterology clinics for variety of complaints between January 2019 and May 2019, and patients with malignancy, biliary stones or pancreatitis were excluded from this group. Patient database was screened for gender, age at diagnosis, biochemical and serological parameters, date of diagnosis, date of death, history of surgery, history of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, localization of the tumor, diameter of the tumor, and the presence of perineural and lymphovascular invasion. Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, level of pancreatic steatosis and the level of sarcopenia were evaluated in the radiological studies. The differences in pancreatic steatosis, visceral and subcutaneous tissue and level of sarcopenia were compared between the healthy subjects and the pancreatic cancer patients. The level of CA 19-9 is highly correlated with the resectability rates and a longer patient survival. Patients who underwent surgery, has higher survival rates compared to the patients who received chemoterapy. Patients who had higher pancreatic steatosis, had higher rates of incidence of pancreatic cancer. In conclusion, the most effective treatment for pancreatic cancer today is surgery, and the CA 19-9 levels can be used as a prognostic indicator. Effect of pancreatic steatosis on malignancy should also be taken into account with the hepatic steatosis and obesity. Keywords: Pancreatic cancer, pancreatic steatosis